Torn
by Austin Hart
Summary: When a fling from Emily's past moves to D.C. will they have a second chance , or has she fallen for someone else? please R&R John/Emily/Hotch with a little bit of the team rated T for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : Sadly i do not own Criminal Minds or the characters**

  
Rossi and Hotch were sitting in Hotch's office looking out to the bullpen. Morgan was lounging in his chair talking to Reid and Prentiss who had JJ sitting on her desk. They were all laughing at something Morgan said , mostly likely a raunchy pick-up line.

" You know it's been 5 months since you and Beth split up" Rossi said eyeing Hotch for a reaction.

"I know how long its been Dave, what are you digging for?" Hotch returned in his usual monotone.

"Why don't you tell Emily how you feel?" Rossi said. There was the reaction he was looking for. Hotch looked nervous , if just for a second before he could hide it, it was there.

"I don't know what you're talking about Dave." Hotch said his voice breaking just a little.

Then they saw a man about Hotch's height and build with dark brown eyes and brown hair approach Emily.

~ In the Bullpen~

Emily heard him before she saw him

"Hey Emms" . There was only one person who called her that. She turned her chair around quickly and was met with a familiar face standing in front of her. John Cooley. A wide smile quickly spread across her face and she stood up wrapping her arms around him for a warm hug.

" John what are you doing here?" She asked with caution laced in her words

"Don't worry its nothing bad. I just got a job in D.C. and wanted to come by and see you. I start my job in a couple days and I was hoping we could have dinner and catch up." He said with a bit of shyness

" absolutely " she said before turning to introduce him to her team. " John This is SSA Jennifer Jareau , Dr. Reid, and SSA Derek Morgan "

He shook everyone's hand with a polite hello for each of them

" So how do you know Emily? JJ asked with a sly smile

" We met when we were fifteen , You all investigated the death of our friend Matthew a few years ago, the three of us were quite the trouble makers back in Italy. " John replied with a smile stealing a glance at Emily who was smirking and trying to hide that she was blushing.

"Hello, i'm Agent Hotchner" Hotch said coming up behind Emily who jumped at the sound of his voice, not realizing he and Rossi had made their way down to the bullpen.

" Sorry Hotch I didn't hear you guys come down, this is my friend John Cooley." Emily said to Hotch as the two men shook hands. " And Rossi you guys have already met, when we investigated Matthews death" Emily said looking at Rossi who had a somewhat concerned expression.

"Nice to see you again Agent Rossi " John said with a smile

" I need to go over some new policies with you guys so conference room in five." Hotch said to the team before turning to go back to his office.

" So Emms how does tomorrow night sound?" John said with a small smile

"That sounds great " Emily replied. "Here let me give you my number " she said before writing some numbers on a post-it and handing it to John

He ripped the bottom of the post-it off and sprawled some numbers on it " And here is mine" He said with a smile .

" Great i will talk to you later then " Emily said giving him a hug

" I'll Talk to you later Emms" He said before turning back to her team who were all staring at her. JJ had a devious smile on her face, Reid and Morgan both had raised eyebrows , and Rossi still looked concerned.

"What?" she asked innocently

" Princess has game , who would have known " Morgan said with a mocking smile spreading across his face.

" What ?! No it's not like that he is an old friend we are just catching up." Emily said looking down at her files

" Your eyes dilated when you saw him meaning that you're attracted to him and when you replied to Morgan you avoided eye contact and your blink rate sped up which mea- "

"Thank you Dr. Reid. " Emily said her words heavy with sarcasm as she stood up and headed to the conference room. Once she couldn't hear them any more JJ spoke

" Rossi what's bugging you? " JJ could easily see the concern laying in his eyes . When he didn't answer she kept probing, " You don't trust him." she said , it wasn't a question. she could tell by his behavior.

" What aren't you telling us?" Morgan spoke with concern

"Nothing it's not my place to say anything " Rossi said with emotionless words as he too made his way to the conference room. When he got in the room he took a seat next to Emily at the round table. She was writing in her reports for the case they had just finished in Vermont.

" You know we aren't meeting in here for another five minutes" He said turning his chair to face her.

" I know . I don't need four pairs of eyes profiling me while i'm writing a report though" she said without looking up from her work. He could tell she was agitated.

" Kiddo you can talk to me . you know that right?" He said, his concern finally making its way into his voice.

She sighed and looked up at him " Yeah I know , i'm really excited about him being here. I guess i'm just torn and don't really know what to do." she said quietly.

" You think he still loves you but you don't love him anymore." Rossi said equally as quiet completely understanding.

" I guess you could say that " She said in a small voice looking back to her report.

A moment passed by silently before the rest of the team made their way into the room all taking their seats. Emily wasn't actually listening to what Hotch was saying, she was busy trying to get her mind around her thoughts. She nodded when appropriate and sat at her seat quietly. Occasionally she could feel Rossi glancing at her, but he didn't look at her long enough for attention to be drawn to her which she was grateful. By the time the meeting was over it was time to go home. Emily gathered her things and made her way down to the parking lot and to her car.

Thirty minutes later she was finally home and made her way for a hot shower. When she got out she threw on yoga pants and a t-shirt, found a book, and settled herself on her couch next to a sleeping Sergio. She practically fell off the couch when she heard her phone vibrate next to her. When she picked it up she saw it was a text message.

From : John  
"Hey Emms "

**TBC **


	2. Chapter 2

_From: John_  
_"Hey Emms"_

_"Hey John"_

_" It was nice to see you today its been awhile "_

_"It was good to see you too, it has been a long time "_

_"So how does seven o'clock sound for dinner tomorrow?"_

_" That sounds great, what should i wear?"_

_"Think nice restaurant"_

_" John you don't have to do anything fancy for me"_

_"I know, but i want to. so i will see you tomorrow at seven?"_

_" Seven works great"_

_"Goodnight Emms"_

_" 'Night John"_

It had been a long time since Emily had seen him, almost four years. His hair was shorter than the last time she saw him and he was in better shape. She was definitely attracted to him , had been since she was fifteen. But was attraction and love the same thing? Could John and her work or was she too head over heels for Hotch? Emily went up to her room with Sergio circling her feet as she walked. She laid down and tried to get some sleep but her head was still spinning with questions. John or Hotch?

Emily walked into the bullpen five minutes late and found JJ sitting at her desk.

"Hey Em , Garcia needs to see you in her lare" JJ said while trying to bite back a smirk.

" Why?" Emily replied hesitantly and obviously suspicious as to why JJ was telling her this and not Garcia

" I don't know, lets go find out" JJ said with a false tone of innocence in her voice. They made their way down to Garcia's lare and JJ quickly shut the door once they were both inside.

" Okay E spit it out who is this guy you're going out with tonight? Garcia asked  
"Thats what this is about?! John is a friend. just a FRIEND. There is nothing there" Emily said in higher octave than her usual voice, getting very defensive.

"Emily i saw you two yesterday. he looked like he would jump in front of a train for you and you looked happy. genuinely happy, which hasn't really happened in a while." JJ said not being fooled by Emily's defence.

"Alright look we had a thing when we were teenagers. We broke up. I moved. we lost touch until Matthew died. He went back to Italy. Now he moved here. But nothing is going to happen between us. i don't think" Emily said finally being honest to JJ and Garcia

"What happened when you were teenagers?" Garcia asked curiously.

"Nothing." Emily replied in a firm and definitive tone.

" What does Rossi know that we don't? " JJ asked not understanding why Emily would tell Rossi something and not tell them.

" Rossi? what are you talking about?" Emily asked knowing that her friends could tell she has hiding something.

" He looked concerned and really protective over you when he saw John. Em i mean REALLY protective." JJ said somewhat concerned that she didn't know the full story.

"Rossi is like a dad to me he gets that way over any guy, you should see interrogations." Emily joked playing off the concern JJ had.

" Well where is this guy taking you for dinner? and what are you wearing? do you know what kind of car he drives? do you want me to do a background check on him? should we go shoe shopping before you go on your date?" Garcia rapidly fired questions at Emily

"Woahhhh , Pen slow down. the restaurant is a surprise, he said to think nice restaurant so I know what i'm wearing, he probably drives a Mustang he always wanted one when we were kids and for heavens sake DON'T do a check on him... and it's not a date. Did I cover everything?" Emily asked trying to find an escape route from her friends. They meant well but Emily was already nervous enough.

"Do we need to go shoe shopping?" Garcia asked with a smile enjoying how easily flustered Emily was getting over this guy

"No, i'm good on shoes. can i go now?" Emily asked with pleading look.

"Fine you can go but i want full details about your DATE tomorrow morning!" Garcia said as Emily quickly made her way out of her room. When she walked back into the bullpen she found Morgan and Reid at their desks doing their reports.

"Hey have you guys seen Rossi?" She asked

"He is in his office talking with Hotch" Reid replied without looking up from his report.

Emily made her way up the stairs and to Rossi's office. the door was open so she knocked on the door frame.

"Knock knock" she said shyly. " I hope i'm not interrupting anything .." she said looking at the two men. Rossi was sitting at his desk and Hotch was standing in front of him.

"No i was just leaving" Hotch said before quickly making his way to his own office. Emily made her way into Rossi's office , shut the door, and sat across from Rossi.

"What's up kiddo?" He asked concerned as to why she would have shut the door.

"Why are you concerned about John being back?" She asked getting straight to the point.

Rossi sighed knowing he couldn't lie to her. "If memory serves he wasn't exactly there for you when you had the abortion. It was Matthew who took you and stood up for you. So where was John in all of this? And don't tell me he wasn't the dad, i can tell by the way you look at each other."

She wasn't expecting that as his response and didn't quite know what to say.

"You're right he wasn't there. but we were both fifteen Rossi. just kids who were scared out of our minds and didn't know what to do. I don't blame him for not being there." She told him trying to defend their actions.

" I know you don't blame him but I still don't trust him. And I don't think you feel the same way about him that he feels about you. You're in love with Hotch." Rossi told her.

She was completely blindsided by that and couldn't hide the shock on her face. She knew it was no use to lie to him, he was one of if not the best profilers. There was only one choice adn that was the truth.

"He's my boss Rossi. Even if he felt the same way we wouldn't be allowed, it's against the rules. I know I don't feel the same about John right now. But i'm willing to give it a chance." She told him feeling the weight come off her chest from not being able to tell anyone that until now.

" I get it. I still don't trust him. But i understand and you deserve to be happy Emily" Rossi said with a small smile.

The rest of the day dragged on for Emily, she didn't know if it was boredom or nerves that had her staring at her watch every five minutes. she had finished her paperwork and hour ago and she still had an hour and a half of the work day left to get through.

"You know princess you can take some of my paper work and do it" Morgan said with a grin

"Not gonna happen buddy" She replied with a smirk

"How did you finish your paper work before us, or well at least me?" Reid asked

" I took some of it home with me last night and did it while I couldn't sleep" Emily replied still smirking at the stack of case files the guys still had to finish.

" Oh come on, taking work home with you? Thats about as bad ad Hotch , princess.' Morgan replied with a smile. He always liked teasing her.

"Well as bad as it is , you're the one who still has work to do which will probably keep you here late where as I will be on a date." Emily replied teasing him back.

"So you admit it's a date" Morgan countered turning her statement back onto her.

"Not like a date-date , more like a date. a meal between two friends." Emily said cursing herself for using the term "date".

"Date-date" isn't an actual word" Reid put in still focusing on his reports.

"Haha the kids got you there princess. just admit it you , Emily Prentiss, have a date." Morgan said confident that he won.

Emily stood up and started making her way to Hotch's office.

"Where are you going?" Morgan asked

"I am asking to leave early since I have nothing to do besides get ready for my date" Emily said over her shoulder as she made her way up the steps and knocking on Hotch's door.

"Come in" he said almost as a reflex.

" Hey Hotch, I have finished up all of my paperwork and was wondering if i could head out early" She said feeling like she was asking to borrow money from her parents

" Sure Prentiss but make sure that those reports are detailed, Strauss still isn't sure that you followed all the protocols when negotiating with the unsub and I slightly agree." He said in a firm tone.

" Yes Sir." Emily replied before leaving his office. Only Emily Prentiss could make a respectful word like "Sir" sound like a slap to the face. Emily gathered her things and made her way to the parking garage. When she slid into her car the clock read 5:30, just enough time to get home and get ready for her date.

At exactly seven o'clock there was a knock on her apartment door. She looked through the peephole first then unlocked her door. John stood in front of her in black dress slacks, a white dress shirt, and a navy tie. Yeah , she was definitely attracted to him.

"Wow, Emily you look beautiful" He said making her blush and look to the floor. She had on a navy blue dress that fit her figure well, a pair of nude pumps, and her hair was straightened. Even with her heels he was still a good three inches taller than her.

"Thanks, you don't look too shabby yourself" She said with a smile, this time making him slightly blush.

"You ready to go?" He asked

"Yeah just let me grab my coat." After she had her coat she locked her door and made their way down to the parking lot.****

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

John and Emily made their way down to the parking lot in front of her apartment. When she saw John's car she smiled and tried to stifle a laugh. He drove a black Mustang Cobra with red leather interior, the car he always talked about as a teenager. He opened the door for her and saw her trying to hide her smile.

"What?" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes

"Somethings never change i guess " she said no longer hiding her smile, but the smile quickly faded when her phone started ringing. "I'm sorry , its work just give me a minute" she said turning to answer her phone, "Prentiss"

"We have a case how fast can you be here?" she heard Hotch ask from the other end.

"Wha- are you serious?" She asked becoming more and more irritated by the second

" Yes i'm serious, or do you have somewhere better to be other than finding the fifth girl that was abducted?" He asked obviously agitated at her tone.

"I'm at my apartment so i can be at the jet in twenty or at the office in thirty-five." she replied in a softer tone.

" Meet us at the jet , i will bring you up to speed on the way" He replied also softening his tone before he hung up.

When she turned to face John he was first to speak

"Nope, things haven't really changed that much, how bad is it?" He asked without a hint of anger

"It's bad. Kids." Emily replied ," I'm so sorry John i really wanted to go to dinner with you and catch up"

"It's okay , go be a superhero, i will still be in town when you get back." He said with a soft smile before placing a light kiss on her cheek, feeling her blush as he did so.

Emily went back up to her apartment, grabbed her go-bag, got in her car and headed for the jet.

Twenty minutes later she was parked at the air strip and was getting out of her car as the rest of team pulled up.

When Morgan got out he looked at her saying " Damn princess maybe i should take you out for a non 'date-date' date"

Emily looked down and realised she didn't have time to change out of her dress and heels.  
" I'm gonna take that as a compliment Morgan" she told him as they all loaded onto the plane. JJ and Emily sat down across from each other at the table, Reid sat next to JJ, Rossi and Morgan sat on the other side of the jet and Hotch took the seat next to Emily.

"So what do we have?" Emily asked as Hotch sat down.

" Four teenage girls in Ridgely, Ohio, ages fourteen to sixteen, abducted on their way to school, held for three days, sexually assaulted , stabbed multiple times , then shot in the head. Our fifth victim is Katrina Barnes, age fifteen she was abducted this morning. After her parents got a call from the school saying she didn't show they called the police, by the time the request got to JJ it was late this evening, well after you had left." Hotch told her looking through the case file

Emily eyes saddened at the details. "Where does he stab them?" She asked

"The abdomen " He replied handing her the case file showing her the crime scene photos. when he looked up he finally got a good look at what she was wearing. "Morgan's right you look beautiful Emily" he told her in a lower voice so that no one could hear.

" Thank you" she said in a small voice still trying to process that he gave her a compliment and used her first name all in the same sentence. Her thoughts about him came to an abrupt stop when she saw the crime scene photos. The girls had been dumped in ditches like trash, but there was something off about them, besides the fact that some creep had raped, stabbed, and shot four teenage girls.

She was still trying to figure out what was off when Hotch's voice interrupted her thoughts.

" When we land JJ and Rossi go interview the victims families including the parents of Katrina Barnes, Morgan and Reid go to the dump site and see if there is anything it can tell us, Prentiss and I will go to the morgue to see if they have anything new, we will all meet back at the station and see if we have enough to build a profile."

Everyone nodded in agreement and Emily looked back at the photos still not knowing what they were missing.

" Em, what's bothering you?" JJ asked

" I'm not sure but something is off about these" Emily said finally closing the case file and setting it on the table in front of her.

When they landed everyone headed their separate ways all unnervingly aware of the time limit hanging over their heads before they found Katrina Barnes in a ditch. Hotch and Emily were both quiet on their way to the morgue, both deep in thought. When they arrived at the morgue they were greeted by a man in his late fifties, about six feet tall , almost as skinny as Reid, with snow white hair that was thinning out.

"Hello i'm Dr. William Carter, you must be with the FBI?" the man asked

"Yes, I'm Unit Chief SSA Hotchner and this is SSA Prentiss" Hotch said as they shook hands and followed him to the autopsy room. as Dr. Carter uncovered the faces of the four girls Emily spoke .

"What can you tell us?"

"Well all four girls were sexually assaulted, but there was no semen found. Also, there weren't any ligature marks." Dr. Carter responded lifting up one of the victims wrists showing them.

"Were there any drugs in their systems?" Emily asked

"Surprisingly not." the doctor responded

"So he had to have held them down, or held the gun to their head so they would comply out of fear" Hotch deduced.

"What can you tell us about the stab wounds? The crime scene reports said they were to the abdomen? " Emily asked receiving a curious look from Hotch, he wasn't quite sure where she was going with this.

"Well yes to the abdomen" Dr. Carter replied

"Was there something unusual about where they were?" Emily asked fishing for why he didn't seem fully certain

"Well now that you mention it , all of the stab wounds were to the ovaries" Dr. Carter told her

Hotch finally saw where Emily was going with the questions and new they could start a profile. They said their goodbyes and headed to the police station. When they arrived everyone was in the meeting room listening to Reid saying how he might be able to build a geographical profile.

"Hey, what did you guys find at the morgue?" Rossi asked as Hotch and Emily sat down at the table.

" He was either strong enough to hold them when he raped them or he subdued them with fear, not drugs. also all the stab wounds were to the ovaries." Hotch told them stealing a glance at Emily who hadn't spoken a word since they heard about the stab wounds all being to the ovaries.

" Every stab wound hitting the ovaries at random is highly unlikely. Someone would have to have a general knowledge of anatomy to be able to hit the ovaries " Reid told them

"So we have a sexual satist whose anger is pointed at teenage girls." JJ said

" The trama most of happened when he was at this age" Morgan put in.

" Maybe he got a girl pregnant at that age?" Hotch spitballed

" A fourteen to sixteen year old girl getting pregnant? that's awfully young don't you think?" JJ asked skeptically.

Emily's head began to spin, this was all hitting a little too close to home.

"Hotch could have a point but maybe in a different direction" Emily finally spoke up, receiving quizzical looks, except for Rossi who had nothing but concern in his eyes realizing where she was going with this. " Go with me on this one for a minute, what if he got a girl pregnant at that age, but she had an abortion. he blames her for killing their baby, and something has recently triggered that memory and sparked his rage." Emily said.

Everyone fell silent trying to process Emily's idea.

"Emily might have something, all of the victims had recently broken up with a boyfriend." Rossi said

"So he would have to know this in order to pick the right girls" Morgan said going with the theory.

" What about someone in the school system?" Reid asked

" well they would have access but come on guys a girl that young having an abortion? i mean the youngest victim was** fourteen**" JJ said still having a hard time believing the theory.

"It's not impossible" Emily said looking at Rossi who was having the same thought as her. Emily was only fifteen when she had an abortion. Hotch dialed Garcia and put her on speaker.

"Worlds sexiest all knowing goddess, how may i be of service?" Garcia answered making everyone smile at her never ending witty remarks.

" Garcia we need you to run a search for anyone that had access to all of the girls in the school systems, they went to three different schools so search for someone that wouldn't have attention drawn to them bouncing from school to school." Hotch said to her.

"Alright i have seven substitute teachers that were at all three schools the weeks the girls were abducted." Garcia answered after a few moments a vigorously typing.

"Okay baby girl now see which of those seven have their name on any form related to an abortion." Morgan told her

"No wait Garcia the guy doesn't have to sign anything on the doctors papers, they don't have to be there and the doctors don't even need their name." Emily put in quickly earning some raised eyebrows at how she had come to know that information.

"Okay so Garcia see which ones have any criminal records" Hotch said drawing the attention away from Emily who looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Three have criminal records, a one Patrick Fulley did time for petty theft but he isn't you guy because he was arrested for a DUI the night before Katrina Barnes' disappearance which leaves a Jonathan Wolfe who did time in juvy for aggravated assault and Kyle Jacobs who was in juvy for beating a kid with a bat. " Garcia told them.

"Garcia send the addresses to our phones" Hotch told her.

"You will have it yesterday, PG out" She said before hanging up

"Rossi and Morgan go to Jonathan Wolfe's house, Prentiss and i will go to Kyle Jacobs apartment, bring both in for questioning" Hotch said

When Hotch and Emily were in the SUV and on the road to Kyle Jacobs apartment Hotch broke the silence.

"So you wanna tell me how you knew all of that, the truth?" he asked in a soft tone trying to read her expression.

_Shit. Here we go.. _Emily thought deciding that lying wasn't an option before saying " Well . . ."****

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Emily looked anywhere and everywhere besides at Hotch still unsure if she could bring herself to tell him.

"Well... I .. was fifteen." she paused to look out the window "When i had an abortion." she spoke barely louder than a whisper.

She couldn't look his way, scared that she would see an expression of disgust, betrayal, and ultimately, rejection. Instead she felt his hand grasp her hand and gently squeeze it. when she looked up meeting his eyes they weren't filled with rejection, but what looked like sorrow.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, it must have been hell" he spoke in a soft voice, only looking away from her eyes a few times to make sure they were going the right way.

"Yeah" said barely audible as she looked down.

They continued on the road for ten more minutes in complete silence, but Hotch never let go of her hand until they pulled up to Kyle Jacobs' apartment. They got out and made their way to apartment number seventeen. Hotch knocked on the door with Emily close behind him. after a few moments a man about Emily's height opened the door just enough for his head to fit between the door and the door frame. he had unruly brown hair and a beard that looked as if it had not been trimmed in weeks.

"Kyle Jacobs?" Hotch asked in his firm tone that dripped of authority.

"Yeah.. who's askin?" he replied with a raspy voice, most likely a chronic smoker.

"The FBI, we need you to come to the police station and answer a few questions" Emily told him

"No way, i didn't do nothin' , i don't' know nothin" He replied but when he stepped back to close the door emily noticed something.

"Hotch that's Katrina Barnes' backpack" she said pointing to the floor behind Kyle. Without any hesitation Hotch grabbed Kyle and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him. Emily went into the apartment looking everywhere but there was no sign of the girl.

When they got back to police station everyone gathered in the meeting room to regroup all deciding they need to get some help from Garcia.

"Hey baby-girl what can you tell us about Kyle Jacobs?" Morgan asked her

"Well he was an only child, parents died in a car accident when he was three so he was taken in by his aunt. At age sixteen he got into a fight with a kid at school, at baseball practice he took his bat and started beating the kid with his breaking his ribs and giving him a concussion. When asked why he did it he said and i quote "that tramp wouldn't keep it then she moved on to him" , ouch looks like someone had a seriously bad break up"

"Garcia does he own any properties or anywhere he could be holding Katrina?" Rossi asked her.

"He doesn't own anything as far as i can tell" Garcia informed them

"Alright thanks PG" Emily said "So now we have to get him to tell us where he is holding them"

"Morgan and Rossi lead the investigation , JJ help Reid and try to narrow down the geographical profile, Emily and I will observe the interrogation."

After two hours of interrogation strategies from one of the most experienced profilers and from one of the most intimidating profilers Rossi and Morgan still couldn't get Kyle to give up Katrina Barnes' location. Rossi finally left the interrogation room and came into the observation room.

"Hotch we need a different angle to approach this guy on because we aren't getting anywhere." Rossi told him

"You're right but what do we have on him?" Hotch said not knowing what to do

"Remember what he said about the attack on the kid when he was 16?" Emily asked coming to the frightening realization that she was right about her theory.

"Yeah ... ohh." Rossi said coming to the same realization. "He said 'the tramp got rid of IT, Emily you were right about the abortion."

" But how can we use that to get him to open up?" Hotch asked

"I can get him to open up, i can do it." Emily said

"No way . that's not going to happen, you are not talking to him." Hotch said in a firm tone

"Aaron this could be our only way to find Katrina" Rossi said knowing what was going through Hotch's head at the moment. Neither of them wanted Emily to have to relive what happened but they all wanted to find the missing girl.

" I can do this Hotch , but can i ask that no one observes?" Emily asked

"No. If you're going to talk to him someone has to observe, and there is no debating it." Hotch said in a softer tone than she would have expected.

"Okay, then can i ask that only you or Rossi observe, no one else from the team?" She asked her eyes pleading for him to comply.

He sighed looking at her eyes, he always had a hard time saying no to her.

"Alright, but Emily you're positive that your okay with this?" He asked her wishing there was a different way to do this.

"I will be fine. trust me Aaron." She said her lips tingling at the foreign name that rolled off of them

"Okay." He sighed. Emily walked out of the room and a few moments later then they saw her walk into the interrogation room nodding towards Morgan. After he left she sat down across from Kyle. Hotch and Rossi were in the observation room with a clear view of Emily as she introduced herself.

"Hi Kyle , My name's Emily."****

TBC 


	5. Chapter 5

****

_"Hi Kyle, my name's Emily"__**  
**_  
Rossi and Hotch were standing behind the glass watching Emily as she sat down introducing herself.

" I don't like this." Hotch said in a helpless tone.

"Neither do I Aaron, trust me. But if she thinks she can do it we have to let her." Rossi said eyeing Hotch, whose stare was intense on Emily.

"I don't know anything 'bout that girl y'all missin' " They heard Kyle tell her

"Oh well I know that, i'm more interested about the girl you dated when you were fifteen. the one you beat a kid with a bat for" Emily said trying to approach him as a friend

"I- I don't know what you're talking 'bout" Kyle said quietly looking down, obviously lying.

"She was probably fifteen right? You were sixteen. It was all fun, until she got pregnant." Emily said

"How did you kno- I don't know what you're talking about." He said

" Did you go with her when she got the abortion?" Emily asked in a soft tone.

" You , you don't know what you're talking about." Kyle told her looking everywhere but at Emily.

" So you were there. She probably asked to hold your hand when they did the shots." Emily said, that got his attention. Kyle was now stareing at her in disbelief , not knowing how she could know all of this. "Two shots, and then it would only be a little bit of pressure, but she wasnt to good with needles so she looked at you instead of the shot as they gave it to her. She tried to hide that she was scared but couldn't help at wincing when the needle went in, because those two needles were huge to a couple of teenagers." Emily told him seeing that she was getting through.

On the other side of the glass Hotch was running his hands through his hair. He didn't want to be there, listening to one of the most private details of her life, but he couldn't leave her either.

"Breathe Aaron." Rossi told his friend placing his hand on Hotch's shoulder to try and steady him.

"But then they started and she started squeezing your hand harder, and harder , and harder until you felt like it was going to fall off. She squeezed her eyes shut at the pain, but the tears were rolling down her face. The doctors said it would just be some pressure and a slight pinch, but you knew she was fighting as hard as she could to not pass out from the pain. You thought it was almost over, until she let out a scream. One scream. That was it. The scream wasn't long. But that doesn't stop you from hearing it in your nightmares. That one scream of pain. " Emily continued as Kyle started to cry. She had gotten through to him.

Hotch's face paled as he sat down on a chair in the observation room. He felt like running into the observation room to hold Emily and never let her go. But his thoughts were interrupted when they heard Kyle speak between sobs.

" She's at 1587 Golden Crest avenue, second room on the left. the room is soundproofed so you won't hear her screams. She's chained to the bedpost, the key is on top of the window sill."

"JJ, Morgan and I will go get Katrina, you stay here and make sure Emily's okay." Rossi said as he opened the door and walked out to get JJ and Morgan.

A cop came into the interrogation room to arrest Kyle and Emily slipped out of the door and headed outside Hotch immediately got up and went after her. When he opened the door he saw her standing towards the back of the building her back facing him. She heard him coming up behind her and spoke first

"I'm fine Hotch, I will be back inside in just a minute." She said trying to hide the pain in her voice.

Hotch turned her to face him and saw that she had been crying. without hesitation he wrapped his arms around her waist drawing her in close to him.

"Em, you aren't alone. I'm right here, not going anywhere." Hotch said in a soft and soothing voice placing a light kiss on her forehead. Emily rested her head in the crook of his neck as he tightened his grip around her. Neither of them knew what this moment was but it was perfect to both of them. Hotch felt a tear fall on his neck and pulled back to gently wipe Emily's cheek.

"Are you okay, Em?" Hotch asked her.

she tried to bite back a smirk before saying, " That depends, if i say yes will you still call me 'Em'?"

Hotch couldn't help but let out a chuckle and smile at her. "Well at work you're Very Special Agent Prentiss, but after hours i can call you whatever you want me to" He told her with a full grin

Emily's head was spinning at the fact that SSAIC Aaron Hotchner just smiled and flirted... all in the same sixty seconds. Her shock must have shown in her face because he smirked and started speaking again

"Did I manage to make The Emily Prentiss speechless?" he asked with a playful smirk

"I guess you're just full of surprises, what other party tricks are you holding back?" she asked with a sarcastic smirk

"Well I guess I could tell you over dinner when we get back, but i would have to kill you afterwards" He said playfully

" Well then i guess i have a death wish" She said smiling before walking back towards the Police station door.

Emily and Hotch both had a hard time processing what just happened.

_I just asked her out._

_My boss just asked me out._

_She said yes._

_And I said yes._

_This should be interesting, since i'm still her boss._

_This should be interesting, I'm his subordinate. Not to mention, John. Oh Shit. . . John._****

TBC 


	6. Chapter 6

The team all met in the conference room of the police station after Katrina Barnes was returned to her parents and Kyle Jacobs was arrested.

"Well Emily you were right, the girl's name is Sarah Carlson , who announced that she's pregnant five weeks ago" JJ said

"Right before the first abduction, there's the stresser." Morgan said connecting the motives

"Good work everyone, it's not to late so we will meet on the jet at six, be home by eight tonight." Hotch said dismissing everyone.

An hour later they were all on the Jet heading home when Emily's phone buzzed

_From : Hotch_

_"Are you sure you're okay after today?"_

She looked across the Jet and saw Hotch staring out the window with his phone in hand.

_" after the interrogation or after you asked me out?"_

She looked out the window biting down a smirk, but saw Hotch smile when he read her text message, before quickly putting his usual grimace on so no one on the jet would suspect anything.

_"Well I could be a smart ass but that's your job. Seriously, how are you?"_

_"Honestly, i'm good. It's easier having Rossi and you to support me. And i thought my job description was ' Very Special Agent Emily Prentiss That Has A Death Wish' "_

Hotch couldn't help but let a chuckle escape ad he read her text message. but when he looked up he saw raised eyebrows all directed towards his reaction, except Emily who was looking out the window, trying to contain her own laughter.

"Was it just me or did Hotch laugh?" Morgan asked shock still clearly shown on his face.

" I didn't think it was possible, what's her name?" JJ asked

" I don't know what you guys are talking about, but speaking of abnormalities, Prentiss is more giddy than usual" Hotch said slyly putting the spot light on her.

"He has a valid point Emily" Reid said

"So princess , are you going to try another date when we land?" Morgan asked

"Not that it's any of your business , no i'm not. John and I are just friends, and I have my eye on someone else." She said vaguely

"Woahhh wait just one minute, who is this new guy and why haven't heard anything about him?" JJ asked taking a seat across from Emily to interrogate her for details.

"Well, he is tall, muscular, pretty trust worthy, and he can perform so pretty cool party tricks " Emily said smiling as her phone buzzed again

_From: Hotch_

_"You haven't seen all my party tricks yet, I have quite a few left up my sleeve_"

Emily bit her lip trying, but failing to contain a smirk as she sent her reply

_" You aren't the only one with tricks, but mine aren't just in my sleeve"_

**The End**

**Thank you to everyone that followed / reviewed this story it means a lot and i hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know I said "The End" after the last chapter but I didn't quite want to leave it at that so here is another chapter and we will see if I have a chapter or two more that i could add. **

When the team got back to D.C. Emily met John at a cafe to talk things over with him, all though she wasn't quite sure what was going on with Hotch, so how could she explain it to John? When she got to the cafe John was already at a table with two coffee's.

"Hey Emms " He said as he stood to hug her and help her into her seat.

"Hey John " She said with sad smile, tipping him off that what she wanted to talk about wasn't good news.

"Emms what's wrong? did something happen?" John asked concerned about what her answer may be.

"Uh nothing, nothings wrong. I just don't want to be leading you on about what this is, between us." She said seeing his face fill with sorrow and regret as her words sank in.

" Look, Emily. I know i hurt you back in Italy and i was inconsiderate and ,for lack of a better word ,a douche bag. You didn't deserve that, and you have every right to hate me and if you don't want to see again I understand and I will be out of your life. But i wanted to show you that I want to fight for you, and as long as you will let me, as long as i'm still a possibility I won't stop fighting for you. Until you're sure that we don't have a chance." John said, knocking the wind out of Emily.

Tears threatened to come pouring down but Emily regained her composure, but she didn't know what to do. It was time to chose between two doors and all she wanted to do was search for a window to get out of instead of making the choice ; Hotch or John?

"John, I'm sorry, I just can't do this." she said wiping the lone tear that made it's way down her cheek.

"Okay then." He said barely louder than a whisper. As he got up to leave he stopped next to her and bent down to lay a light kiss on her cheek before walking out of the cafe , and out of Emily's life.

Emily went to her car and drove the ten minutes home with tears streaming down her face. She loved Hotch and knew she made the right decision. She just didn't plan on loosing John completely, she already lost Matthew. When she got home she sat in her driveway and let the tears run down her face for what seemed like hours , but was only about five hours. She made her way up to her apartment and after feeding Sergio and locking her door behind her made her way for a hot shower. After thinking about the events that had conspired over the past couple days she threw on athletic pants and a tank top. After taking a beer out the fridge she heard her phone buzz on the counter.

'Ugh not tonight' She said to herself walking over to see who it was.

From: Hotch  
"Hey Em , what are you up to tonight?"

"I just opened a beer and my couch is calling my name "

"Do you want some company?"

"Aaron its 9 pm , we just got done a rough case, and you wouldn't get back to your place until late"

"It's worth it if i'm with you, and you're right it was a rough case specially for you , which is why i don't think you should be by yourself right now "

" Alright fine, I have a few beers in the fridge and Grey's Anatomy recorded from last night "

"Okay I will be there soon "

Emily was pretty happy that he insisted on coming over, she always felt safe with him.

Twenty minutes later Emily answered her door to find Hotch standing with a tub of her favorite ice cream and two spoons in hand.

"I was going to bring flowers, but who wants flowers when you can have ice cream " He said with a smile showing the dimples that always made her melt.

"You are amazing" She said as he followed her to the couch.

They sat together eating ice cream in a comfortable silence as they watched tv for about an hour just enjoying each other's company until she broke the silence.

"Thank you for coming over, and being here for me. And for the ice cream " she said with a small smile

"I will always be here for you Em, I don't know what happened since I saw you on the jet, and i'm not going to press you about, but i'm here for you. Always." he said taking her hand into his realizing how petite she was compared to him. " And as for the ice cream I told you I had more party tricks up my sleeve." He said with a smirk.

Emily finally started laughing and couldn't help but relax at his words. There was no doubt in her mind that Hotch was the right choice.

"I talked to John tonight." Emily said looking down trying to hide the tears in her eyes, but Hotch put his finger under her chin lifting her eyes to meet his.  
"Em, what did he say to you?" He asked his voice laced with concern

" Um that it was my choice to make, and when I told him who I chose he told me that he would leave me alone, for good. And I don't want you to think that I regret my decision because I would chose you every time, I just didn't realize i was going to lose John all together." Emily replied with the pain dripping in her voice

"Oh Emily, i'm so sorry" Hotch said pulling her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she buried her face in his neck. He held her close as he felt the tears hit his neck. They sat there for at least an hour before he realised that she had fallen asleep. He tightened her grip on her and carried her up to her bed placing her down and pulling the covers over her. He placed a kiss on her temple and turned to leave when her hand caught his wrist.

"Aaron, you don't have to leave." She said , her words coming out slurred with sleep, but he still heard what she said and a smile creeped its way onto his face as he climbed into bed , wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to his chest, happy that she chose him.


End file.
